Friday afternoon I went to Mendards to buy fiberglass for insulating the wall and attic space above the kitchen. The clerk at the construction desk asked me what I wanted to insulate and we discussed my 2x4 walls with 16- inch-on-center studs and R-values. He sent me home with one roll unfaced and two rolls of faced fiberglass. This cost about $65.00 and included a rebate coupon for each roll. We wanted to be ready to go early Saturday morning. It was already hot - about 80 degrees when we started at 9:00 A.M on Saturday. None-the-less, we donned long pants, long sleeves, gloves and face masks for the task ahead. The previous insulation was blown-in cellulose and it had been falling like snow all week as we worked. We started by folding the un-faced roll of fiberglass into the attic space. We sprang open the faced roll and immediately realized they had sold me the wrong size. It was for 2X6 walls! There was no way it would fit. Chuck was covered in cellulose, so I jumped in the car and took the two rolls back. I waited in line at the return desk, then was told to take the return to the gate keeper in the lumber yard. That gentleman had me fill out some paper work and said a yard worker would meet me in the fiberglass area for the exchange. I busied myself by reading all the signs and determining for myself what type of insulation would work best for us, and after ten plus minutes of waiting I started searching for this elusive yard worker. I spotted a bored young man lounging in the shade. He signed off on my exchange and informed me I had to go back inside the store to pay. While they didn't question my exchange, no one apologized for their original help desk mistake. I must say my opinion of Menards has really soured during this transaction. The product I picked out after reading all the specs on the warehouse signs was pre-cut unfaced sheets made just for our application: eight-foot high ceilings, 2x4 construction with standard 16-inch on-center studs. This product was about half the cost as well. The bats were very easy to install and before lunch we had stapled the 6-mil plastic vapor barrier over the insulation. We both took a shower and started taping after lunch.

unfaced fiberglass insulation

fiberglass bat insulation

love the pre-cut fiberglass wall batting!

The 6-mill plastic was overlapped by about 12-inches in the corners. We cut an X over the electrical boxes and tucked the flaps back. The tape is very sticky, yet you can re-position it right away if needed. Getting it stuck tight yet leaving room for the dry wall thickness was kind of tricky, especially around the window. I'm sure the professionals have some tricks to speed up the process. We found folding the tape in a V, sticking one edge to the window sill, then using the edge of a retractable blade to press it against the side of the window frame worked pretty well. I have to say, while I understand this is current code, it seems rather overboard when the rest of the house has insignificant vapor barrier. But we did our best to follow the current code. By Sunday we were done with our tasks for the week and Chuck was ready to go back to his job on Monday morning. Up next: plumbing